Scream Factory Blu-ray Discussion Thread

[dallywhitty]

Okay, now they're playing Bronski Beat's masterpiece, 'Smalltown Boy.' Hnnnnnng.

And now they're playing 'Tainted Love' by Soft Cell.

Originally Posted by barsalou

My kind of neighbors.

Also, sorry to the Scream thread, feels like the Code Red regulars are taking over today.

[Show spoiler]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4iL...&frags=pl%2Cwn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiSB...&frags=pl%2Cwn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBs-...&frags=pl%2Cwn

I'd never heard of The Midnight prior to now, but I'm diggin' these tracks. But then I'm a sucker for anything which is inspired by 80s synthpop.

[barsalou]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

Okay, now they're playing Bronski Beat's masterpiece, 'Smalltown Boy.' Hnnnnnng.

And now they're playing 'Tainted Love' by Soft Cell.


I'd never heard of The Midnight prior to now, but I'm diggin' these tracks. But then I'm a sucker for anything which is inspired by 80s synthpop.

Figured I would entice people to check them out with a few quick links, glad you are digging the tunes.

[DaveyJoe]

I have a feeling you guys would like this:

https://youtu.be/isIj3tuQTDY

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

While we're on the subject of music, my neighbours have been playing Joy Division, New Order, and The Smiths in the back garden. Bliss and heaven.

[barsalou]

Originally Posted by DaveyJoe

I have a feeling you guys would like this:

https://youtu.be/isIj3tuQTDY

Cool mix... I knew of a few artists on there (Timecop 1983 & Waveshaper), thanks for sharing!!

People that dig this would probably also dig The Slasher Film Festival Startegy and Clusterbuster too.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by OldManInTheCave

Sometime later, he picked up an acoustic guitar that was in the living room and started playing. Usually this kind of behavior is obnoxious in social settings, but this guy could play! When I asked him if he was in a band, his reply was "yeah, we're called Interpol.". Being drunk and more, I replied with "oh, really? I keep hearing about how much i need to listen to you guys. I hear that you sound a lot like Joy Division!". He rolled his eyes, mumbled something under his breath, and didnt speak a single word to me for the remainder of the night, and a few years later I found out that it's a comparison none of the band members are even remotely fond of. Not sure why, though. That debut has Joy Division written all over it.

That's pretty funny. I imagine that, by that point, Interpol were tired of hearing the comparisons, but the comparisons are legit.

Interpol reminded me even more of a UK band, The Chameleons, that enjoyed some modest success during the early to mid 1980s.

[AKORIS]

I was just reading the past page of posts and I had to look up to the top corner to remind myself what thread I was in!!

[Thomas Veil]

Originally Posted by AKORIS

I was just reading the past page of posts and I had to look up to the top corner to remind myself what thread I was in!!

Shhhhh...it's a nice change.

[Cutter_]

haha, well some of the movies started lowering in prices. It seems like Shout finally allowed some others to offer pre-orders. Which, is good, so no reason to complain anymore. I am happy to see a couple of my pre-orders drop in price.

[jcole8882]

I just rented What Keeps You Alive from YouTube to see if I'd like it before scream releases it...

I highly highly recommend this movie! Its intense, gripping, and very thrilling... I cant wait to have this on bluray... I think this movie worked really well with being terrifying because theres nothing more truly terrifying than knowing that your spouse could hurt you at anytime, someone you love and trust, but not realizing how well you really know them, or who they really are?

A damn good solid, realistic horror movie!! A+++++

[Khronikos]

Originally Posted by TwiStedByDeSign86

I'll join the I still by cds club. I love album art. just being able to bring them around, and jam out in car on my way too and from work.

I buy more CDs and SACDs than I ever have. There have been amazing things released in the past couple years. A lot of great remastering campaigns from Tom Waits to Bowie. MFSL super audios are a bit spendy but they also have great campaigns. Just got all of the beach boys sacds and they sound absolutely the best I have ever heard them. Much warmer and nicer to listen to.

Plus I love buying a new disc from a great artist that is well mastered just like film.

[mep]

Originally Posted by Cutter_

haha, well some of the movies started lowering in prices. It seems like Shout finally allowed some others to offer pre-orders. Which, is good, so no reason to complain anymore. I am happy to see a couple of my pre-orders drop in price.

Sadly not. At least not for international customers like me. My only chance of ordering SF-Titles is via amazon (BN stopped shipping to Europe and SF themself sadly never have) and because of shipping costs and VAT (together those sum up quickly to around 30% on top of the total value of my order! Yes, that´s the so called ´free market´ for individuals right now...), retail prices around 35-40$ would lead to a total price point around 50€, if I would import them to Germany. Also I have to buy at least around 250€, that the effort and the shipping costs are somewhat evened out and in my mind I should get at least 10 titles for that amount of money. So my recent amazon.com order for September had 13 titles and was around 250€ before shipping and VAT as always. Normally I´d buy around 5 titles from Scream/Shout each order - each month. In this month - guess what - it was ONE title: Wild at heart. That´s it. I cannot pre-order single titles like Candyman for 25$ right now, because I have to team them up with my whole monthly order. I´m fine with prices between 20-25$ for most of the scream titles. But 40$! Come on! I get Criterions for 20-25$! Even here in Germany. This is insane. And I want them with Slipcovers in the first place, because it would be impossible for me to find those otherwise later here in Germany on their own. So I have a three month window. For ROTLD2 this gives me till the middle of November. If the title does not drop till that date in price and also in line with other SF titles, I just will not buy those titles anymore at all. If we´ll see price drops during this month for all the relevant August titles, I´m fine with that. Four weeks of this mess for each title I can stand. I don´t need them at release date (and I also don´t get them, because shipping takes around three weeks). But I can and will not pay around 50€ each title. Those are box-set prices to me, not single B-Movie prices anymore...

So, the rage continues...

By the way, those where the titles I ordered this month. WAC and Vestron are the winners regarding this SF mess up:

Items Ordered Price
1 of: Never So Few [Blu-ray], Frank Sinatra
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$21.99
1 of: Ash Vs. Evil Dead: Season 3 [Blu-Ray + Digital], Bruce Campbell
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$19.99
1 of: Wild at Heart (Collector's Edition) [Blu-ray], Nicolas Cage
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$16.96
1 of: Last Hunt, The (1956) [Blu-ray], Robert Taylor (I)
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$21.99
1 of: Home from the Hill (1960) [Blu-ray], Robert Mitchum
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$13.99
1 of: Warlock Collection [Blu-ray], Julian Sands
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$29.99
1 of: Wishmaster Collection (4 Film) [Blu-ray], Tammy Lauren
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$26.09
1 of: Designing Woman (1957) [Blu-ray], Gregory Peck
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$18.67
1 of: The Colossus of Rhodes (1961) [Blu-ray], Rory Calhoun
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$17.41
1 of: 2 Weeks in Another Town (1962) [Blu-ray], Kirk Douglas
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$18.62
1 of: The Invisible Man: Complete Legacy Collection [Blu-ray], Claude Rains
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$27.49
1 of: Terror, The: Season 1 [Blu-ray], Jared Harris
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$19.99
1 of: Creature From the Black Lagoon: Complete Legacy Collection [Blu-ray], Richard Carlson
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.

Condition: New
$29.99

[Tylur]

Originally Posted by barsalou

Cool mix... I knew of a few artists on there (Timecop 1983 & Waveshaper), thanks for sharing!!

People that dig this would probably also dig The Slasher Film Festival Startegy and Clusterbuster too.

Any love for Com Truise? Absolutely one of my favourite synthwave/lo fi artists right now! Hes also a super nice guy who comes out to hangout with the fans before his shows. Ive met him 4 times now and hes signed some of my stuff too!

[redrunner97]

Originally Posted by Tylur

Any love for Com Truise?

So, a dyslexic guy walks into a bra...

[Show spoiler]

[OldManInTheCave]

Originally Posted by Tylur

Any love for Com Truise? Absolutely one of my favourite synthwave/lo fi artists right now! Hes also a super nice guy who comes out to hangout with the fans before his shows. Ive met him 4 times now and hes signed some of my stuff too!

I'm a bigger fan of Tom Kruse, whom invented the Hoveround.

[DR Herbert West]

Originally Posted by redrunner97

DAY ONE: FINAL EXAM (1981)

Some may pass the test. God help the rest.

[Show spoiler]To kick start my 30 days of slasher movies, I decided to give Scream Factory's blu-ray of Final Exam a spin! I've been a fan of this film since I first saw it courtesy of Scorpion Releasing's 2011 DVD, but I was well aware of it for years before then. I remember first hearing about it when I was younger, while searching for slashers made in my home state of North Carolina (this one was shot in Shelby, which is a county over from my hometown and also where House of Death / Death Screams was filmed). The previous DVD was OOP and very hard to find, so as soon as the Katarina's Nightmare Theater DVD went up for pre-order, I was beyond excited.

From the first time I saw it, I was hooked. It quickly became one of my favorite slashers. But I sold my DVD when the blu-ray was announced, and only just got around to picking it up again earlier this year. I haven't seen it about 4 years. So I was very interested in revisiting it for my slasher marathon, to see if my matured tastes might make me view it differently. And, while I still adore this movie for nostalgic reasons and because of its production's proximity to me, I did feel like I was almost seeing it for the first time all over again.

The plot's pretty simple, even by slasher standards. There's a killer on campus. And he's knocking off students on the the last day of final exams. What you see is what you get. It's almost the quintessential '80s slasher (it was even marketed as a mockbuster sequel to Halloween), which makes explaining the plot without getting into all the character's personal arcs a bit difficult. This is a very character-driven film. There's a big murder at the beginning and then we have to get to know all these students and staff, and their interpersonal relationships, before we get to watch them meet their demise at the end of a homicidal maniac. Patience is required, which is not normally a prerequisite for most slashers, but in this case it's worth it.

The crux of the movie, IMO, has always been the character of Radish, a fun precursor to Scream's Randy. He's a horror nerd through and through, and a big aficionado of serial killers, with a wealth of self-referential knowledge that makes his dialogue scenes especially entertaining and witty (even if the actor's delivery is a bit... disjointed). He's also extremely paranoid that all the bad things in the world are just lying dormant, waiting to jump out and ruin everything. He tries to hide it, but there are a couple scenes where his neurosis really rears its ugly head (like when he almost confesses his love for our final girl, Courtney), and it makes the character even more compelling IMO.

Meanwhile, Courtney is struggling to seize the day, focusing on her studies instead of making her college experience memorable and worthwhile in other ways. If this movie continued after the credits, I would hope she might use this horrifying experience to better herself, to start seizing the day and stop letting all the fun pass her by. Because, like this film's utterly motiveless and random killer, tragedy doesn't need a reason to strike. Sometimes it just does. And you can't live your life in a bubble no matter how hard you try.

You can't review this movie in 2018 without acknowledging the mock school shooting scene. Obviously, the makers of this movie had no way to predict how much of an epidemic such a heinous crime would become in only a couple decades, but man, it's so jarring to watch. Such a scene would NEVER fly today, but apparently it was absurd enough back in the early '80s that it could be casually played for shock, then laughs, rather flippantly. I think it actually says a lot about the state of things today, quite frankly. But it still comes off pretty distasteful and doesn't tonally fit the rest of the movie in any way whatsoever.

As for the REAL deaths depicted, there's nothing too revolutionary. The weights strangulation scene is pretty gross. But the big draw here, as far as horror conventions go, is the jump scares. This killer's always waiting where you least expect him. I've seen this movie several times and I jumped more times than I'd like to admit tonight.

Also, famed screenwriter Kevin Williamson is also from North Carolina. And I'd be shocked if he wasn't a big fan of this movie. Not only did he name drop it in Scream 2, he also lifted the scene where the killer turns the car headlights on outside the gym and chases a guy for I Know What You Did Last Summer (although he greatly improved/extended it). And, as I mentioned, Radish was very clearly an inspiration for Randy. And I feel like it's possible that the subplot involving frat boys cheating on the test and stealing the answers from their teacher may have at least partly inspired Teaching Mrs. Tingle (along with the novel "Killing Mr. Griffin," from Lois Duncan, the same author as "I Know What You Did Last Summer"). Of course, it could all be a coincidence... just like the events of Final Exam.

Is this a perfect movie? Hell no. Is it a perfect slasher? Also, no. But it's really fun, has one of the better cast of characters in the entire subgenre, IMO of course, and there's enough slashing here to please fans, even if it is mostly confined to the second half. I'd easily recommend it to any slasher fans who still haven't picked it up.


If you enjoyed this review, here's my schedule for the rest of the first week of SLASHtember! I'll be revisiting one slasher a day for the next 30 days over in the '80s Slasher thread (including another Scream Factory title tomorrow: The Burning! :

Great review! looking forward to the rest.

[Member-320773]

Originally Posted by mep

(BN stopped shipping to Europe and SF themself sadly never have)

They did? Most recently I took advantage of their Criterion sale and received a couple of orders without a problem.

Beside, there are other cheaper options to import from the US than Amazon.us. Don‘t want to derail the threat, so feel free to shoot me a PM.

[TwiStedByDeSign86]

Originally Posted by redrunner97

DAY ONE: FINAL EXAM (1981)

Some may pass the test. God help the rest.

To kick start my 30 days of slasher movies, I decided to give Scream Factory's blu-ray of Final Exam a spin! I've been a fan of this film since I first saw it courtesy of Scorpion Releasing's 2011 DVD, but I was well aware of it for years before then. I remember first hearing about it when I was younger, while searching for slashers made in my home state of North Carolina (this one was shot in Shelby, which is a county over from my hometown and also where House of Death / Death Screams was filmed). The previous DVD was OOP and very hard to find, so as soon as the Katarina's Nightmare Theater DVD went up for pre-order, I was beyond excited.

From the first time I saw it, I was hooked. It quickly became one of my favorite slashers. But I sold my DVD when the blu-ray was announced, and only just got around to picking it up again earlier this year. I haven't seen it about 4 years. So I was very interested in revisiting it for my slasher marathon, to see if my matured tastes might make me view it differently. And, while I still adore this movie for nostalgic reasons and because of its production's proximity to me, I did feel like I was almost seeing it for the first time all over again.

The plot's pretty simple, even by slasher standards. There's a killer on campus. And he's knocking off students on the the last day of final exams. What you see is what you get. It's almost the quintessential '80s slasher (it was even marketed as a mockbuster sequel to Halloween), which makes explaining the plot without getting into all the character's personal arcs a bit difficult. This is a very character-driven film. There's a big murder at the beginning and then we have to get to know all these students and staff, and their interpersonal relationships, before we get to watch them meet their demise at the end of a homicidal maniac. Patience is required, which is not normally a prerequisite for most slashers, but in this case it's worth it.

The crux of the movie, IMO, has always been the character of Radish, a fun precursor to Scream's Randy. He's a horror nerd through and through, and a big aficionado of serial killers, with a wealth of self-referential knowledge that makes his dialogue scenes especially entertaining and witty (even if the actor's delivery is a bit... disjointed). He's also extremely paranoid that all the bad things in the world are just lying dormant, waiting to jump out and ruin everything. He tries to hide it, but there are a couple scenes where his neurosis really rears its ugly head (like when he almost confesses his love for our final girl, Courtney), and it makes the character even more compelling IMO.

Meanwhile, Courtney is struggling to seize the day, focusing on her studies instead of making her college experience memorable and worthwhile in other ways. If this movie continued after the credits, I would hope she might use this horrifying experience to better herself, to start seizing the day and stop letting all the fun pass her by. Because, like this film's utterly motiveless and random killer, tragedy doesn't need a reason to strike. Sometimes it just does. And you can't live your life in a bubble no matter how hard you try.

You can't review this movie in 2018 without acknowledging the mock school shooting scene. Obviously, the makers of this movie had no way to predict how much of an epidemic such a heinous crime would become in only a couple decades, but man, it's so jarring to watch. Such a scene would NEVER fly today, but apparently it was absurd enough back in the early '80s that it could be casually played for shock, then laughs, rather flippantly. I think it actually says a lot about the state of things today, quite frankly. But it still comes off pretty distasteful and doesn't tonally fit the rest of the movie in any way whatsoever.

As for the REAL deaths depicted, there's nothing too revolutionary. The weights strangulation scene is pretty gross. But the big draw here, as far as horror conventions go, is the jump scares. This killer's always waiting where you least expect him. I've seen this movie several times and I jumped more times than I'd like to admit tonight.

Also, famed screenwriter Kevin Williamson is also from North Carolina. And I'd be shocked if he wasn't a big fan of this movie. Not only did he name drop it in Scream 2, he also lifted the scene where the killer turns the car headlights on outside the gym and chases a guy for I Know What You Did Last Summer (although he greatly improved/extended it). And, as I mentioned, Radish was very clearly an inspiration for Randy. And I feel like it's possible that the subplot involving frat boys cheating on the test and stealing the answers from their teacher may have at least partly inspired Teaching Mrs. Tingle (along with the novel "Killing Mr. Griffin," from Lois Duncan, the same author as "I Know What You Did Last Summer"). Of course, it could all be a coincidence... just like the events of Final Exam.

Is this a perfect movie? Hell no. Is it a perfect slasher? Also, no. But it's really fun, has one of the better cast of characters in the entire subgenre, IMO of course, and there's enough slashing here to please fans, even if it is mostly confined to the second half. I'd easily recommend it to any slasher fans who still haven't picked it up.


If you enjoyed this review, here's my schedule for the rest of the first week of SLASHtember! I'll be revisiting one slasher a day for the next 30 days over in the '80s Slasher thread (including another Scream Factory title tomorrow: The Burning! :

Yes! Nice start to Slashtember. Very nice idea too, I'm watching my own Slashtember playlist thanks to it. Very nice review for a fun slasher movie. The killer's pretty damn ruthless.

[mep]

Originally Posted by David Lee Parks

They did? Most recently I took advantage of their Criterion sale and received a couple of orders without a problem.

Beside, there are other cheaper options to import from the US than Amazon.us. Don‘t want to derail the threat, so feel free to shoot me a PM.

Sadly they changed their policy a couple of weeks before the last sale. You were very lucky, getting your recent orders! They stated in their FAQs that foreign customers could no longer open new accounts on their page and already existing accounts who would try to order would be cancelled. Was also mentioned in this forum in the criterion board. I didn´t bother to try and bought the titles I really wanted through amazon.com each only a few bucks more...

[TwiStedByDeSign86]

Originally Posted by Khronikos

I buy more CDs and SACDs than I ever have. There have been amazing things released in the past couple years. A lot of great remastering campaigns from Tom Waits to Bowie. MFSL super audios are a bit spendy but they also have great campaigns. Just got all of the beach boys sacds and they sound absolutely the best I have ever heard them. Much warmer and nicer to listen to.

Plus I love buying a new disc from a great artist that is well mastered just like film.

I have so many CD albums it's ridiculous, so many soundtracks, mostly punk or metal, a lot of classic rock or r&b. Everything from Marvin Gaye to Exhumed, Velvet Underground to Madball, from Beach Boys to Bad Religion, the Carpenters to the Distillers, and Four Seasons to David Bowie ect. I just purchased the CD and Vinyl to Phantom of the Paradise (which came with a narly shirt) a personal favorite of mine!